The present invention is directed to shock absorbing prosthetic foot for use by an amputee. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a versatile and configurable shock absorbing prosthetic foot having a number of flexible bumper assemblies that allow the damping and energy transfer characteristics of the foot to be easily adjusted.
It is desirable to produce prosthetic feet having the ability to both absorb energy during a heel strike of each step, and to efficiently transfer the energy to the toe of the foot as the step progresses. Ideally, this energy is released at the moment of toe-off to provide energy for the next step.
During ambulation, the foot initially contacts the ground at the heel. Therefore, particularly during strenuous activities, it is desirable for a prosthetic foot to be capable of absorbing the shock of this heel strike, and to transfer the absorbed energy to the toe portion of the prosthetic foot for release upon the subsequent toe-off so that the rebound energy is maximized.
Various prosthetic feet have been designed with this in mind. However, known energy transferring designs typically suffer from one or more drawbacks including, but not limited to, bulkiness, complexity, heavy weight, excessive stiffness, inefficient energy transfer, and the inability to properly optimize the dynamic characteristics of the foot for a particular amputee (particularly after the foot has already been assembled).
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a prosthetic foot which is not subject to the shortcomings of the prior art. Consequently, the present invention is directed to such a prosthetic foot.